Why Bahrain conference won’t be enough for peace
The US-initiated Bahrain conference will bring little to the Palestinians without a real peace process with Israel.
For many months, the US administration has labored over an Israel-Palestinian peace plan. But the recent announcement of a Bahrain economic conference at the end of June suggests that the administration of President Donald Trump would like the Palestinians to be satisfied with economic incentives instead of statehood. In other words, using cash to pressure them.
So what is really behind the “Peace to Prosperity” economic workshop the Trump administration has asked Bahrain to host? Does it express a total lack of understanding and racist contempt for Arabs in general and Palestinians in particular? Is this yet another step coordinated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to waste time and exhaust Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas? Could we be witnessing another display of ignorance regarding the forces at play in the Middle East?
